Sally E. Hills

Born on December 9, 1809, Sally E. Hills was the daughter of Isaac and Sarah (McKean) Hills who lived in Merrimack, a town in Hillsborough County along the river of the same name. 

The sampler would have been an early needlework project of Sally’s; she was 10 years old (“in the 11 year of her age”) and learning to stitch alphabets, the vowels and a numerical progression. A narrow inner border and a very good, wide outer border frame the sampler well. 

Sally’s maternal ancestry in New Hampshire can be traced back several generations to Samuel McKean (1703-1753), who emigrated from Ireland in 1718. Her grandfather, Samuel McKean (1758-1838) served in the Revolutionary War, mustering out of Amherst, New Hampshire. 

Sally married Hubbard M. Humphrey (1801-1875), and they had ten children. She died in 1889 and is buried in Reeds Graveyard in Merrimack along with many family members. 

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is a molded and black painted frame.